Sales of Old Glory are not flagging

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Friday, Sept. 14, 2001 | 10:02 a.m.

When Glenna Garrison heard the news of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, she went to her Las Vegas home and pulled out the American flag she stored after the Fourth of July.

"It was the first thing I thought of," said Garrison. "We have to show terrorists they haven't won."

Garrison, who works at Michael's Crafts in the 3000 block of Eastern Avenue, said it was comforting to see customers quickly deplete the store's supply of American flags, banners and ribbons.

"Whatever else people try to say about Americans, we pull together at times like this," Garrison said. "Our flag will always be a symbol of that."

Sales of American flags in the Las Vegas Valley have skyrocketed in the past 72 hours, surprising even longtime merchants.

Paul Beier, production manager at the Banner Outlet on South Valley View Boulevard, said he has received more than 200 calls in the past two days from people who want to buy flags.

"I expected to sell a lot, but I never, never expected this," Beier said.

At Flags Unlimited, manager Randy Kopf said every American flag in stock was gone by midday Wednesday. That included dozens of commercial-sized flags and smaller ones designed for residential display.

"Even the little flags are gone; I guess people are putting them on their desktops and dashboards," said Kopf, who runs the business out of her Las Vegas home.

At the Army-Navy Supply Store on South Rainbow Boulevard, manager Dave Madison said he has sold out of American flags.

Wal-Mart stores in Las Vegas and Henderson were also sold out of flags, although some stores were offering customers free red, white and blue ribbons.

More than 315,000 flags were sold nationwide at Wal-Mart stores between Tuesday and Wednesday, said corporate spokeswoman Jessica Moser.

By comparison, on Sept. 11 and 12 of 2000, Wal-Mart sold 16,000 flags nationwide, Moser said.

Professor Ted Jelen, chairman of the political science department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said flag sales jumped during the Gulf War and in 1979 when Americans were taken hostage in Iran.

"Any sort of highly visible or sustained crisis in foreign policy will generate a similar response," Jelen said.

Tourists, who have been stranded in the city since Tuesday's attacks, are buying the flags, as well.

"It's (the American flag) our top seller, no doubt," said Sam Salex, manager of Flag Mania at the Stratosphere.

"A lot of people have been calling up, saying they want a flag to take back home."